You know, Loki wasn't just suppressing his brother and trying to vie for the position of heir by playing some small tricks. He was directly trying to snatch the throne from Odin, which is why he could be convicting of rebellion. Yet, Odin didn't do anything about it. The only time Loki died was due to Thor's accidental blunder.
The funniest part is that Loki's biological father, Laufey, raised a rebellion precisely because he opposed Odin's rule. His father rebelled outside, and he rebelled within, but Odin was able to turn a blind eye.
From this, it is evident that Odin's level of emperorship in this cosmos is practically unparalleled.
Such differential treatment led to the distortion of both their personalities. The eldest, inheriting the family business, constantly thought, "Does my dad look down on me? Is he deliberately trying to make things difficult for me?" Then he began to indulge in self-destructive behavior, developing a mindset of "I'd rather destroy myself than to take revenge on you."
Meanwhile, the younger son would think, "My dad doesn't care about me at all. I must create some commotion to get their attention." So he started making trouble all the time, even to the extent of wanting to set Asgard ablaze, just to grab his parents' attention.
The relationship between the two brothers wasn't any better. Though Thor killing Loki was considered an accident, if it were Thor from the Central Universe, and you removed his brain and threw it into a Black Hole, he wouldn't move a finger against Loki purely on instinct.
Not to mention, in this cosmos, Loki even drove the Destroyer directly, severely injuring Thor's physical body, and even triggered Ragnarök, preparing to eradicate the entire God Clan. It was essentially mutual resentment, unable to calm down.
It's the absence of comparison that prevents the hurt. Sif thought, if Thor and Loki from this cosmos were to evaluate Odin, they wouldn't be able to calmly say, "We only feel he tried his best." They would certainly have a lot of misunderstandings and complaints.
Thus, often, apparent fairness can ruin everything, whereas a seeming imbalance and favoritism can yield better results.
Sif began to think more deeply about why this was the case.
Then she realized that the Father of All Gods from her cosmos couldn't really be considered biased. He cultivated based on the different innate conditions of his sons.
You can't ask a Frost Giant with innate defects, abandoned by his biological father, to compete in strength with the Aesir. It's like forcing a cripple to race with a normal person, or having a turtle compete with a cheetah in speed. The consequence of such actions, apart from destroying Loki's self-confidence, is without any other possibility.
If Odin had cultivated Loki like Thor, by throwing him into the center of the battlefield to fight his way out, he'd likely lose his life. Or leading Loki to jump gangs, like with Thor, he would get himself hacked to death?
In Asgard, where martial prowess is revered, it isn't just Odin's few praises or compliments that can make everyone defer to Thor. It ultimately has to reveal true skills. It's after Thor wins against his opponents in the arena at every age that those Generals follow Odin's praises, instead of jumping out to question.
If this were Loki, how could he possibly win against the Aesir of the same age? Even with a boost from magic, others can make countless mistakes, while he can only make one. Once it gets close-range, wouldn't he get beaten to a pulp?
So, Loki couldn't walk the same path as Thor, which meant Odin couldn't let him follow this path. He could only let Loki learn Magic with Frigga, trying to make up for the lack in physical prowess, at least somewhat having a specialty, at the very least a point worthy of praise.
Reflecting on this cosmos's Loki, Sif thought his inexplicable inferiority might be because Odin applied a one-size-fits-all education model for the brothers, then calling it "fairness."
Thor fights people, and Odin lets Loki fight people. Thor jumps gangs, and he lets Loki jump gangs. Thor learns something, Loki learns something. Because of the difference in their innate conditions, Loki could never beat Thor; how could he not feel inferior?
Inferiority is always an endless slope downward. Starting from the inferiority of abilities, it gradually develops into personality inferiority, then gradually starts to loathe all that he possesses, even something as different as black hair in terms of appearance.
The saying goes that when a person is popular, they encounter good people. If a person performs well and is well-liked, each of their traits will be heavily praised. People would say, "You see, he's so great. He has a good character, strong abilities, and even perfect appearance." When these words circulate, the compared party naturally becomes nothing. Even hair color, which initially had no comparative value, would get criticized.
Over time, even the individual himself would start to self-doubt whether even such inherently trivial and meaningless traits, like hair color, are a creator's preference, leading to resentment of these minute details.
This cosmos's Odin's surface-level fairness, that's genuine unfairness to Loki. If you swap positions, and Asgard is a magical civilization where everything is judged by Magic Level, Thor would fall into the same scenario. This isn't fairness at all.
Sif believed that the best thing Odin did was when Loki wasn't proficient in a particular field, Odin chose to shield Loki. He adopted a "do less, make fewer mistakes" strategy, simply not allowing him to tread those paths. Can't beat others? Don't go to the arena. Can't jump gangs? Don't go to the battlefield. This ensures that even the most aggressive doubt Loki faced is at most, "You're not Asgard's Warrior," rather than total denial.
Many parents respond to their children's failures in fields they aren't proficient by being ridiculed. While feeling sad, they let their child continue while criticizing them as "psychologically fragile," instructing them to "not care about others' perceptions," or "just work harder and get it done?"
Little do they know that the destruction of confidence never only destroys one aspect. The slope of inferiority causes a continuous collapse in personality, leading to complete self-denial, then starting to rebound bottom-out, resorting to any means to acquire a sense of existence and worthiness.
Such individuals lacking a sense of worthiness will repeatedly verify if something or someone still remains by their side. Accompanying this comes endless control desires. Eventually, rather than ending intergenerational trauma, it aggravates, becoming those parents once again.
Sif continuously warned herself not to become like this cosmos's Odin as a parent—the main reason for holding the bowl level is preparing to pour all the water out forcefully.
And the Thor and Loki of this universe have indeed been splashed out completely. Thor's emotional life is a mess, and Loki is left with nothing, virtually destitute. There are many more cracks between the two brothers, and whether they can be mended is still unknown.
Even if Sif cannot stand Loki, she still feels regret about it. So she turned around to look at Thor and said:
"Do you think there's still hope for them?"
The topic switched a bit abruptly, but Thor quickly realized who she was talking about. He thought for a moment and said:
"It's really hard to imagine Loki becoming such a rude little punk, but I can only make him polite; the rest, only his brother can help."
"The problem is whether his brother is reliable," Sif sighed, "I always feel that Thor's issues may be bigger than Loki's. His romance with Ms. Foster was more about seeking a chance to catch his breath. Even his interactions with Earth might just have been a rebellion against Odin."
"Now, he has the entire Nine Major Kingdoms, and he has become more free, which is exactly the time to showcase his governing abilities. But does he really have this ability? The ability to manage the relations between Asgard and Earth, and his own relationship with Loki?"
"It is difficult," Thor said, "but it is a path he must take. I would love to provide him with some advice from experience, but he seems to be stuck at the first step."
Sif made a "please elaborate" expression.
"He hasn't figured out that now is the best time for him to establish good relations with the Rebirth Alliance. Clearly, the arrival of visitors from the Multiverse and Grayson's wedding are the most crucial aspects of the Rebirth Alliance's plan to raise this universe's status, and nothing can go wrong.
"However, the seafood incident has already shown that someone wants to make little moves behind the scenes. The Rebirth Alliance is already very busy; they need to ensure the main processes have no mistakes, but they do not have strong control over these minor details. This is a good opportunity for Thor."
"The seafood incident is not a major part of the process, and getting involved doesn't have the risk of interventionism, but food poisoning could potentially lead to serious consequences, like guests giving bad reviews or causing discontent among Mutants. Solving it would be a major achievement. For Thor, it's a perfect chance to demonstrate his wisdom and insight."
"But he seems completely uninterested in this matter," Thor shook his head and said, "or perhaps he hasn't even noticed it at all and has his attention focused elsewhere."
"He might have gone to find Loki," Sif said.
"But Loki can't possibly have anything to do with this matter," Thor said, "Previously, he was always kept by the Thor of this universe, so Thor should know best that he can't be involved with any recent events, so there's no need to focus on him now."
"Perhaps he feels he can't keep Loki locked up anymore," Sif pondered, "Their relationship might not have been that good before, but now Thor feels he has everything under control, so he's willing to show some kindness..."
"It's not the right time," Thor said, "He wants to use Loki to show his magnanimity, but he can't really control him completely. Unwilling to take drastic measures, yet still feeling a sense of discontent. This leads to him always wavering, making wrong decisions at the wrong times."
"In your opinion, what should be done?" Sif asked.
"Either lock him up and focus on resolving the issues on Earth. Wait until everything is handled properly and Loki can't cause any trouble anymore, then let him out. Make him completely submit and satisfy one's own inner anger. Or let go of old grievances and thoroughly forgive Loki from the heart, then talk to him calmly. This way, no matter what Loki plans to do, at least you can have a clear conscience."
"Do you tend to prefer the latter?" Sif asked.
"That's what I did," Thor sighed gently, "Loki has also done things over the line, like getting me thrown to Earth, though it was mainly Odin's wish, he is not entirely innocent, and I know that in my heart."
"But you chose to forgive him."
"Because I don't want to lose him," Thor said, propping his head with his hand, "If I become the new king of Asgard, my reproach gains power, which would be too heavy for Loki. If I don't want to lose him, I can only forgive him."
"I think so too," Sif said, "I was angry for a long time about him stealing my hair, but when I became Queen of Gods, I realized that if I insist on treating this as a mistake to hold him accountable, the responsibility I might extract, his punishment, might be far more than he should actually bear."
"This is why power is also a shackle," Thor said, "When you reach a certain position, you must maintain restraint, even concession. Personal emotions can lead to injustice, collapsing a mighty cause from within."
"I hope this universe's Thor can realize this," Sif said, "although it may come at some cost."